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Theft a setback in blogger's trip across America

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

(Updated 7:56 am)

By Ryan Seals
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — Two and a half weeks into a cross-country road trip, British blogger Geoff Marshall says he’s seen some of the best things that America has to offer.

But it took only one night in Greensboro to open his eyes to the ugly side.

Sometime overnight Sunday, a thief broke the driver’s window of his 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee parked in a west Greensboro apartment complex. In all, $6,000 in electronic equipment Marshall used to document the journey was stolen.

Stolen were his Alienware laptop computer, Sony video recorder, Nikon D200 camera and a TomTom GPS, which he used to navigate from one town off the beaten path to the next.

And he lost an hour’s worth of video footage — a significant part of his 10-week trip through 18 states.

“It’s my own stupid fault, leaving it in the car,” Marshall said Monday as he swept up the broken glass in the parking lot of Mission Friendly Ridge, off West Friendly Avenue.

“I had been driving all day. ... I got lazy and didn’t bring the stuff inside.”

Originally from London, Marshall moved to Charleston, S.C., in 2006. But before he left, he and friend Neil Blake set a Guinness World Record in May 2004 for the quickest time visiting all stops along the London Underground system.

The record: all 275 stops in 18 hours, 35 minutes and 43 seconds — a record that stood two years.

Though the record was broken, it didn’t diminish Marshall’s taste for adventure.

At 36, he decided to take time away from his job as a videographer for a Charleston-based news Web site, dip into his savings and explore the lower 48 states. His goal? To visit a town in each state that matches the name of a stop along the London Underground.

He dubbed the trip “Underground USA.”

After some map plotting, Marshall set out on June 16 and has covered all of New England and parts of the Midwest and South. Different friends plan on joining him a week at a time along the 30,000-mile trip.

Along the way, he’s tweeted. Every week he posts blog entries, pictures and videos of his journey.

He plans to create a Web-based documentary when the trip is over.

On Sunday, Marshall and girlfriend Katie Kozar left Amersham, Tenn, for Greensboro.

They planned to stay two nights at Kozar’s sister’s home before going to their next destination near Wilmington. The brief stop was supposed to be a welcome break from hotel rooms and campsites, but it turned into disaster.

In a video Marshall shot with a backup camcorder and posted on his blog Monday after discovering the break-in, he thought about throwing in the towel and going home.

He changed his mind by the afternoon when word of the ordeal quickly spread across the Internet.

Efforts soon got off the ground to help him raise the money to replace the stolen equipment so he could make the documentary.

“I’m quite touched and humbled by the amount of people ... asking to donate money,” he said.

“You can replace a $2,000 camera, but you can’t replace an hour’s worth of footage from places you’ll never go again in your life.”

He plans to hit the road again today.

But first, he had to pull out the phone book Monday afternoon to navigate to the nearest repair shop to replace his broken window. So much for that GPS.

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com

Accompanying Photos

Ryan Seals

Photo Caption: Geoff Marshall cleans up broken glass from his Jeep Grand Cherokee on Monday afternoon. Someone broke into the vehicle and stole $6,000 worth of electronic equipment he used to document his trip across America.

Comments

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northoftheboro

June 29, 2009 - 9:10 pm EDT

Way to go, GSO...a British vacationer travels all across the United States, encounters no problems until he gets to Greensboro. Nope, no crime issues in Greensboro, only "racism" in the police department.

jsipe29

June 29, 2009 - 9:17 pm EDT

Why should anyone be surprised. He visits several places while travelling across the country and as soon as he gets into Greensboro, he turns into a victim. This should really look good in his report. I'll bet he "REGRETS" stopping in Greensboro!

help geoff

June 29, 2009 - 10:45 pm EDT

Us Charleston locals have put together a Web site for those who want to help geoff get back on the road.

Obviously you don't know Geoff, but if you could consider spreading the word, we'd be much obliged.

http://helpgeoff.wordpress.com/

connieohyeah

June 30, 2009 - 2:49 am EDT

They probably saw the GPS in the window first. Geoff was right, "It was my own stupid fault." You can't let valuables out of sight while you're traveling. It's kinda like the first rule...

jeaniegnc

June 30, 2009 - 9:15 am EDT

Yes, that is right, blame the victim. Really we should post signs at the city limits warning visitors that if they leave any of their valuables out where our criminals can see them and they are stolen, it is their own stupid fault. We don't blame our criminals, we blame the victims. Now here is something I can offer "regrets'" for and I do. Geoff please accept my sincere apology that your valuables were stolen by criminals in Greensboro.

xarkGirl

June 30, 2009 - 9:26 am EDT

Crime happens in every city and probably those who blame the victim there too. But my experience in Greensboro has been damn fine.

I love me some Greensboro onliners! This town, in my mind, sets a high standard for online community development. Thanks for the inspiration, and the help.

connieohyeah

June 30, 2009 - 10:18 am EDT

Excuse me for agreeing with the subject of the article.

Does your car have locks? Does your house have locks? Is your jewelry box displayed inside a first floor window? Do you leave your keys in the ignition? Is your purse or wallet on the dashboard?

The answer to most of these questions is likely "no." People understand that they can, and must, protect themselves from crime.

A friend's purse was stolen off the passenger seat of our car in New Jersey. The crook smashed the window, grabbed, and dashed. It was our own stupid fault for leaving it there. Since then, we haven't. I was even told by a Virginia police chief not to leave a GPS in plain sight. Protect yourself - it's common sense - and the easiest way to cut your chances of becoming a victim. This kind of thing happens everywhere, so take it easy on Greensboro. The victim was tired, and he forgot to do what it was that he knew he needed to do. He's only a victim because he left the jewels in the window.

Good luck Geoff, and sorry, mate. You probably wouldn't leave that stuff in your window in London, either.

oh good grief

June 30, 2009 - 10:24 am EDT

Wonder if Katie said to Geoff, "Honey, we shouldn't leave this equipment in the car overnight," whereupon Geoff answered, "Quit nagging, you worry too much, nothing's going to happen to it"?

gsoagt

June 30, 2009 - 11:46 am EDT

Don't go making us out to be the Ugly Americans, again. I have traveled all over this country and many others. As Geoff said, "It was (his) own stupid fault." I recently drove from Greensboro to Oklahoma City. I, too, had a GPS, my computer and some priceless items I was donating to OU. I NEVER (even taking rest breaks) left the GPS or its suction cup holder in the window. In fact, I wiped down the imprint it left on the windshield. I kept everything else in the trunk and locked up tightly. Every night, I lugged my burden into the hotel rooms and back to the car the next morning.

I must admit, the only place my car has been burgled was while parked in the driveway of a million dollar Greensboro home. My Geo was the only one hit, the left the Lexus, Porsche and Lincoln alone.